Reach Out
by genericnamehere
Summary: The inexplicable death of Spain leaves the world in turmoil. Russia must find the cause of his death before more nations meet the same fate. It's then that America tells him about the Midnight Channel. RusAm, FrUK, GerIta, more
1. Chapter 1

Ivan nodded to the operator as he got on the elevator after that day's meetings had completed. It was only the first day of the meeting, and already he wanted to leave.

Alfred had been telling some ridiculous story about a Midnight Channel that only came on if your TV was off at midnight and it was raining. He had sworn that he had seen Antonio on it the night before, and was complaining about it. Apparently, according to his story, the one you see on the Midnight Channel is your destined love. How foolish.

No one seemed too bothered by the fact that Antonio had not actually shown up for the meeting today.

He shook his head and read for the button, but pulled his hand back as it bumped with the operator's, who had reached over at the same time. He got a strange shock when he did it, like a static shock.

"Sorry about that, sir. 5th floor?" The operator pushed the button he had been reaching for.

Ivan leaned back against the wall of the elevator as it rose, rubbing his forehead as he felt a headache coming on. He must have annoyed himself thinking about Alfred's stupid stories. Though, that didn't explain the sudden nausea he felt, too. Well, he was on an elevator. Perhaps it was motion sickness.

When the elevator doors open, he hurried out, never noticing the leering grin of the operator as the doors closed.

When he got to his room, he pulled off his shoes and collapsed on the bed, closing his eyes.

He didn't wake up until the next morning, when there was a pounding on his door.

"Ivan! Ivan! Wake up! It's an emergency!" Oh great. Why was Alfred coming to him for this supposed emergency? Surely someone else would be more interested.

"Antonio's dead! They found his body hanging off one of the flagpoles outside!"

Alright. That _was_ an emergency.

When Ivan and Alfred made it to the conference room, they walked into chaos. No one could explain what had happened. Nations didn't just die, especially not overnight. Did someone kill him? Did he kill himself?

There was a loud banging sound, and everyone turned to the head of the table, where China was standing.

"We're not getting anywhere just talking about it, aru. Nations don't just die. We all know this, aru. Therefore, we should set up a committee to investigate the disappearance."

There were murmurs throughout the room before the other nations began nodding their heads. But who would be on the committee?

"I'll do it!" Ivan groaned. Of course Alfred would want to be all over something like this. He had to be hero, after all.

"No! You're too irrational, aru." Well, Ivan supposed that was one way to say it.

"I'll do it." Everyone looked to where Kiku was sitting. Ivan nodded a bit to himself. Kiku was calm and rational. It would probably be a good idea for him to be part of the investigation team.

"I suppose I'll help as well." China nodded.

"Very well then. Kiku and Roderich will be in charge of investigating what happened to Antonio, aru. If they need help, everyone else shouldn't hesitate to do so."

With the matter settled, the other nations seemed to calm down as Kiku and Roderich left to begin working. Ivan stared out the window as the meeting began, as though nothing had happened.

The next day, it rained again.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, are you going to watch it?"

Ivan sighed and turned to look at Alfred, who had made himself at home in the empty seat beside him.

"Don't you have anyone else to bother?" Alfred blinked a few times, leaning back in the seat.

"No one really wants to talk. If they aren't being interrogated by Kiku, Yao, and Roderich, they're helping plan the funeral. I wanted to help, but they said it would be better if I didn't."

Ivan wondered to himself if he was referring to the investigation or the funeral, before deciding it was probably both. The younger nation almost looked pathetic, as though he couldn't understand why he was be excluded.

"Fine. Keep the TV off at midnight, da? That will be no problem. I will have your stupid channel on." He would have had the TV off at midnight anyway.

He watched as Roderich walked in and called Romano over. Romano was taking it harder than everyone else. Ivan couldn't say he blamed him. The nations had recently (and Ivan agreed with everyone else who had said "Finally!") started seeing each other. Romano had been the last one to see Antonio the morning before, and it was his unfortunate luck to be the one to find him. Ivan idly wondered if they were considering him a suspect.

"...and it's not too clear, so it might be- Hey! Are you listening to me?" Alfred's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He was still talking about that channel? That was typical of the nation: single-minded obsession with something until something shinier rolled along. There was always something shinier.

"Yes. ...I will keep that in mind. Please excuse me." Ivan stood and walked out of the meeting room. With the exception of Alfred watching him leave, no one even blinked at the action. It didn't surprise him. Everyone had stayed for the sake of making it easy to plan the funeral, and for Kiku, Roderich, and Yao to do their investigation. The meeting was all but over, otherwise. There was nothing to say.

He went back to the hotel, only making idle conversation with the operator about the weather. By the time he reached his room, he had forgotten his promise to Alfred.

When he woke up just before midnight, it was merely a coincidence.

Yawning, he rolled over, blinking a few times as the TV flickered on. He glanced down to make sure he hadn't rolled onto the remote, but it wasn't there. Ivan threw his blankets aside and walked over to it, peering at the screen, which kept flickering on and off. What was wrong with the TV? He didn't want to deal with this all night. If this was some prank of Alfred's, he'd let the younger nation have it in the morning. Maybe he'd use some tactics he picked up from the KGB.

Before that, he had to fix the TV. He pushed the power button, but it did nothing. He turned to get the phone to call room service, but stopped as he was suddenly overcome with a mind-splitting headache. Nausea swept over his whole body.

_"I am thou..."_

Where was that voice coming from? He looked wildly around the room, one hand fumbling in the darkness for his pipe as the other held his head, trying to will away the pain.

_"...thou art I." _Ivan picked up his pipe and looked at the TV again. It was still flickering madly. He started to feel lightheaded.

_"Thou art the one who opens the door." _Ivan swung his pipe at the TV, hoping to break the screen. He missed.

No, he didn't miss. He was falling forward with the force of the blow as, instead of breaking the screen's glass, his hand went through the screen. There was a sucking sensation as Ivan felt the TV trying to pull him in.

He gave a hard tug and flew backwards, pipe clanging as it landed harmlessly on the floor beside him.

He struggled to keep his breath as he stared wide-eyed at the screen, which rippled briefly before returning to normal. The flickering was gone and the TV was off.

Maybe Alfred's story wasn't so dumb this time, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Ivan closed his suitcase and picked up his room key, turning to head to the door. The nations would be leaving after the meeting today, so he had to checkout before he left.

He was quite grateful to be leaving. The incident with the TV the other night was enough to disturb his sleep the rest of the trip. He had taken the sheet off his bed and thrown it over the TV so he wouldn't have to look at it again. He wasn't necessarily afraid of it, but it's not everyday that one's television tries to eat you alive.

He still hadn't had a chance to talk to Alfred about what happened with the television the other night. He was going to after yesterday's meeting, but Roderich came in and announced that Romano was missing. Everything got lost in a jumble of panicked nations, trying to decide if he would turn up dead somewhere as well, or if he ran away because he was the guilty party.

He opened the door, but only got halfway through it before something heavy ran into him, nearly knocking him over. He glanced down at the wheat colored hair that was pushing itself off of him.

"Ah, Alfred. I was hoping to speak to you before--" He was cut off as Alfred slapped his hands on both of his shoulders.

"Romano's dead! The same way as Antonio! They found him hanging off a street light in the middle of the city!" Ivan allowed Alfred to jostle him back and forth for a moment, because it was obvious he needed to do something, before putting his hands over the younger nation's and removing them.

"Calm down, da. Why are you in such a panic over this? Shouldn't this be where you swear to find the culprit because you are the hero?" He blinked as Alfred shook his head. He had never see America so shaken before.

"I...I think I watched him die!" Alfred hurriedly looked around, then pushed Ivan back into his room, closing the door behind them before he continued. "Last night, on the Midnight Channel...it was Romano! And he was flailing around, like he was in pain..."

Ivan frowned as he listened to this. He had heard his television come on again last night, and the screams had been unnatural sounding, but he had refused to remove the sheet from its place over the screen. Was it connected? Was someone killing the nations and filming it? Who would be next?

"--listening to me? Ivan! Come on! This is no time to be lost in thought! Anyone could be next!" Ivan shook his head, and put his hand on Alfred's head, trying to still the nation.

"Perhaps it's not good to be lost in thought, but it is better than not thinking at all, da? I have something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Alfred fell silent, and Ivan took that as his cue to continue. "I watched your Midnight Channel the other night, and when I tried to turn off the television, I bumped the screen. My hand went through the screen."

Ivan stared at Alfred, who was staring at him in turn. He was until he started laughing, anyway.

"Your hand went through the TV? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Alfred walked over to the television, pulling the sheet off of it. With one hand on his side, he reached over with the other to lean against the screen as he made his point. "You can't just go throuAHHH!"

Before Ivan could process what was happening, Alfred had fallen through the screen, propelled by the force he had been leaning with. Ivan sighed and pulled his pipe out of his jacket. He wasn't sure what would await him in the television, but he couldn't just leave that idiot there.


	4. Chapter 4

Ivan groaned as he hit the hard surface and just lay there for a moment, trying to collect his bearings. He blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his fuzzy vision, before he realized that it wasn't his vision. The entire area was surrounded by a thick fog. He held his hand up over his head, and found that he had to bring it within a few inches of his face to see it clearly. He shook his head and stood, looking around.

"Alfred! Where are you?" He frowned as he heard nothing. Where could he have gone in this fog? "America? I'm in no mood for your ridiculous games, da?" He frowned a bit as he thought to himself.

Was it possible that Alfred was the one responsible for the deaths of Antonio and Romano? Perhaps he lured them here and killed them before disposing of the bodies. The other nations argued about the physics of the placement, but with strength like Alfred's? Climbing while carrying a body would be easy.

Something flickered in his peripheral vision and he turned. There was a blue outline faintly visible through the fog. Ivan walked over to it and noted it was a large blue door. He took a breath and readied his pipe. Alfred could be waiting on the other side, and he wasn't going to let him get the jump on him. Armed and ready, he opened the door and walked in.

Only to find himself climbing into what looked like the inside of a limousine. He blinked, and fell into the seat behind him as the vehicle started moving.

"Ah, welcome. Welcome." Ivan looked across from him and blinked a few times. A strange man and woman were sitting across from him. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Besides me is my assistant, Margaret. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is the Velvet Room, and only those chosen to wield the power of the wild card may enter."

Ivan raised a brow as he listened. This was all well and good and completely off the wall, but it wasn't helping him any.

"Yes, yes. Where is America? He put you up to this, da?" Ivan frowned. He didn't have the patience for these games.

"Ah yes. He is a friend of yours? Unfortunately, he does not have the power to enter this room, and so we are unable to help him," Igor nodded to Margaret who set a pair of glasses on the table between them, "but perhaps there is still enough time for you to do so. Can you save him from himself before it's too late?"

Ivan reached over and picked up the glasses, looking them over. He looked up to ask what Igor meant by that, but his vision was suddenly flooded by light. When it faded, he was surrounded by the fog again.

He frowned and started wandering in the fog. As he walked, a voice echoed around him.

_"Do you seek the truth?"_ It was indistinguishable and garbled. Ivan looked around, but he couldn't find a source. He picked a direction and kept walking.

_If it's truth you desire, come and find me."_ Ivan frowned as he kept walking. What truth? The truth behind the killings? He rounded a corner and stopped. There was a shadowed figure in the distance. He couldn't make out who it was. He strained to see in the fog, then glanced down, remembering the glasses in his hand. He put them on, and blinked.

The fog was gone, but so was the shadowy figure. In its place, there was a large building. Ivan couldn't quite place it, but it seemed like something he had seen before? Ah, yes. It was similar to the building Alfred had presented as a possible design for the United Nations Headquarters. It would be like a League of Superheroes hideout, he had said.

There was someone standing in front of the door. Ivan knew that cowlick anywhere. He approached Alfred, ready to grab him and find a way out of this place.


	5. Chapter 5

Ivan called out to Alfred as he drew closer to him. Alfred looked around, but then headed into the building. Could he not see him? Ivan thought of how far he could see without the glasses the strange man had given him and frowned. He had to catch up to Alfred before he got himself even more lost than they already were. As he headed into the strange building, he wondered what the man had meant when he asked if he could save Alfred from himself in time.

Those thoughts were quickly brought to an end when he took in the surroundings inside the building. The walls were covered in cartoonish graffiti. As he walked down the hall, he realized that the pictures were telling a story. Something in the back of his mind told him he should know who those men were. It was a battle. Normal men taking cover in trees, watching for something in the distance.

He stopped as he came to a corner. To the right, there was an army of men in bright red jackets. To the left, the men wore gray. He sighed, wishing he had brought a drink with him. What was this place? He shook his head and turned to the left, watching as the pictures tapered off to solid white walls. He stopped as he found himself staring at the wall that blocked his path. A dead end.

He frowned and turned, heading back the way he came. He didn't have time to waste with these games. How is it that Alfred had gotten so far ahead of him already? What was this place? The strange man's words came to mind again. He had to save Alfred from himself.

He stopped as he reached the men in red jackets again. There was one man, dressed in a blue coat that stood out from the rest. He was standing in front of the leader of the red coats, who was on his knees, looking down at him. It was Alfred and Arthur. Ivan looked around him again as the realization hit him. This world was a reflection of Alfred. He frowned and turned, hurrying down the hall.

Alfred had an edge over him for knowing his own history. He'd reach this end of this strange maze before Ivan would.

And he'd have to face himself.

It took Ivan longer than he'd like to get to the end of the maze. It made him feel somewhat foolish. He knew the major events in American history. Alfred's media made sure everyone knew everything about them. He thought his own military intelligence would fill in the blanks. There was so much he had never considered, though. No textbook in his country would care about something like Bleeding Kansas or a failed assassination of a President.

He found himself walking into many dead ends, and he was surprised to find it bothered him. He had always assumed that Alfred was always happy and carefree. It had made him angry to know that he knew nothing of what hardship was like, and yet he was so sure he could solve everyone's problems; so sure he could be their hero.

This place made him realize he knew nothing about Alfred at all.

He took a breath and pushed open the door when he reached it, hoping he had found the right place. When he got there, Alfred was yelling, firing wildly into the fog. At the same time, he was laughing, but there was a darkness to it that Ivan had never heard before.

"How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the world! You're sick of all their bullshit anyway! You know they hate you, and yet you always run to the rescue. You know you want to just let them die! See how much they really need you!"

Ivan looked beyond Alfred to find another Alfred, but this one was different. Gone was the bomber jacket he loved so much. In its place were military fatigues. Rather than the standard earth tones, however, this Alfred was wearing different shades of red. Most haunting were his eyes. No longer that deep, clear blue, they were a sickening gold.

Alfred had brought his hands to his temples, shaking his head as he held it. "No...No! That's not true! They're my friends! Of course I want to help them!" Ivan shuddered as the other him laughed.

"You put on a good show of being happy-go-lucky. Everyone's hero! Nothing gets you down, ever! You'll save anyone, even your worst enemies! You have to be at the center of everything! And why? Because you're a fucking coward. You're terrified of being alone." The other Alfred laughed as Alfred dropped his gun, still shaking his head. "Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe...you know it's all the truth! Because I AM you!"

Ivan readied his pipe as he came up behind Alfred. As he did, he barely caught the low whisper that broke through the laughter filling the room.

"No...what are you? Who are you?" The other him stopped laughing and grinned.

"I already told you. I am you. Your shadow. The true self!" More laughter filled the air, and yet another Alfred moved its bare arms around the red-clad version.

"Ah, ah, ah. We all know _I_ am the true self." He pushed off the red Alfred and Ivan watched as he started to move towards Alfred. He was wearing blue pants, but that was all. His glasses, rather than being like Alfred's, were a blue-tinted pair of round glasses. Before he could get close, however, something small and red jumped on his shoulder. It was followed by another small green thing on his other shoulder. Ivan squinted a bit and realized, they also looked like Alfred.

"No, I'm the true self!"  
"No, me! Me!"

Alfred straightened and pointed to the group of them. "None of you! You! Are not! Me!" The other Alfreds stopped their squabbling and looked over at him, grinning. Ivan could tell they had been waiting for this. The room filled with a nearly black fog and all that was left in the room was their laughter, echoing in the darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Before the fog even cleared away, a long metal tube came swinging out of it, catching Alfred's side and sending him into the wall across the room. Ivan noticed it was similar to the cannon on a tank. The tube swung again, causing the fog to vanish. Where the other Alfreds had been, now a strange monster stood in their place. _A shadow,_ something in the back of his mind supplanted.

The shadow vaguely reminded Ivan of some of the superheroes from Alfred's diagrams for his ridiculous plans. It stood on four legs, from an animal Ivan couldn't quite place looking at them. Perhaps it was one of the bison native in Alfred's lands. The tank cannon was protruding from its torso, and it rotated back and forth with ease. Instead of arms, it had what looked like wings. Were they metal? They had to have been. The ends of the feathers were actually gun barrels. Its head was an eagle, which seemed somewhat appropriate to Ivan. Was this twisted monstrosity what Ivan was supposed to save Alfred from? Was _this_ Alfred?

He stood, holding his pipe in front of him defensively as he took slow sidesteps towards Alfred. It seemed the force of the blow had knocked him unconscious. Ivan was mildly surprised at this. He didn't think anything would ever hit his hard head with enough force to do it. Before he could reach him, the shadow screeched, turning in his direction. The pipe in his hand suddenly felt useless, and Ivan was at a loss for what to do.

_I am thou._ Ivan's eyes widened as nausea swept over him. It was that voice again.

_Thou art I._ Ivan brought a hand to his forehead, clenching his eyes closed and stumbling back.

_The time has come! Open thine eyes and call forth what is within._ Ivan swallowed the bile as he felt it creep up the back of his throat. What did it mean? Within him? He was far worse than this monstrosity that claimed it was the true Alfred. Would it be enough? Could he control it? Could he admit that it was inside him?

He opened his eyes and glanced over at Alfred, who was regaining consciousness. The shadow was rushing toward him. Ivan didn't have a choice. He'd have to accept himself, or they would both die here. He stood straight, pulling his hands from his head, willing the nausea away. He blinked, feeling something in his hand. A card. He flipped it over and his eyes widened as it suddenly began to radiate power. He grinned a bit. This was his power? But how could he use it? The voice came to mind, beckoning him to call on it; giving him the answer.

"Persona." He crushed the card in his hand and yelled in pain. It felt as though he was being split in two. In front of him, his own shadow appeared. It wore a dark cloak and hood, and a mask hid it's face. The only color was the red scarf around it's neck. In one hand, it carried a long sword. The fingers of his other hand danced, controlling the strings of a marionette. Ivan watched in awe as it attacked Alfred's shadow, destroying it with ease, and then stumbled back as it disappeared, returning to where it was hidden deep inside him. As it returned, it whispered its name, _Rasputin._

Shaking his head, he ran to Alfred's side and helped him stand. Alfred looked beyond him to where the other Alfred's were standing silently and sighed.

"I never know who I am. My people can't make up their minds. I always feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions. I try so hard to be the hero, just so I can hold onto something constant. People like consistency, right? No one wants to be friends with someone who's unreliable." Ivan listened, watching as Alfred gave a weak laugh and let his head hang. "I guess that means that they're all me, huh?"

As soon as he acknowledged the shadows, they faded, merging together. In their place stood a statute. Ivan was certain he had seen something like it before. It had multiple animal heads stacked on top of each other. At the top was an eagle's head, with wings outstretched. A totem pole, he believed it was called. As soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Alfred closed his eyes, leaning against Ivan's shoulder and whispered lightly.

"Odoodem."

Ivan nodded a bit and shifted, moving Alfred so he could carry him on his back. He looked around the room one last time before walking out into the hall. He stopped as he looked in the corner. He hadn't noticed the television there before. He sighed as he walked over to it. If that was how they got there, it's likely that it would lead them out as well.

He made sure Alfred was secure on his back, and jumped in.

********************************************************  
I went with Rasputin for Ivan because he's kinda ambiguous historically. It's hard to say if he was evil or just misunderstood, or made out to be bad by his enemies...like Russia!

Totems poles were used for storytelling by the Pacific Northwest tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska (and canada). Totem is derived from "Odoodem," the word used to describe them. (Hence the name of the persona)


	7. Chapter 7

Reach Out 7

A month later found Ivan sitting in a stuffy conference room in the UK. It was raining here, and he wondered if the Midnight Channel would be on. It had been a while since it rained last. He looked across the table at Alfred, who was leaning with his chin in his hand, bored as he listened to Arthur addressing the other nations. He must have felt Ivan watching him, because he looked over and smiled weakly.

After they returned from the strange world in the television, they had sat and talked until they had to leave the hotel: about what happened to Alfred, what happened to Ivan, and just about each other. Ivan had let Alfred take the glasses. He said that he wanted to try making a copy of them for himself. Ivan had no plans on returning to that strange place, so he did not mind. He would not need them.

Alfred pulled his gaze back to the front of the room reluctantly as Arthur finished speaking, and Ivan mimicked the motion. Roderich was walking up to talk about the investigation into the deaths of Antonio and Lovino. He spoke in quiet tones, and Ivan felt it matched the somber mood of the meeting. He wasn't really listening. He knew they hadn't learned anything. They wouldn't have waited for the meeting if they did.

He looked around the table at the other nations. Ludwig was rubbing Feliciano's back, as the other had started crying when Roderich took the podium. Gilbert was similarly trying to cheer up Francis, who had been distraught since the day the other member of their trio died. Elizabeta didn't have her camera out as she usually did. Katyusha was sitting beside her, watching everyone. Kiku and Yao were speaking quietly amongst themselves while Matthew hovered, unnoticed, in the background.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he looked up, smiling a bit when Alfred was standing there, sticking his hands in his pockets. Roderich must have finished speaking. He hadn't even noticed. Alfred jerked his head towards the door.

"Lunch?" Ivan smiled a bit more and nodded, standing. They walked out of the room quietly, ignoring the disbelieving stares that followed them out.

"Have you been well?" Ivan looked at Alfred as they walked down the hall. He had lost count of how many times he had picked up the phone and set it down before he finished dialing Alfred's number.

"Yeah...yeah, I've been a lot better, actually. My economy has doing a lot better, too, since we started pulling aid out of places that don't really need it." Ivan nodded as pushed open the door to the cafeteria.

"That is good to hear. It is better to be the hero when one is needed than all the time." They fell into a comfortable silence as they worked through the line, getting their lunch. It wasn't until halfway through their meal that Alfred set down his burger and looked at him.

"It's going to rain through the night. Let's watch the Midnight Channel together. I'll come to your room." Ivan looked at him for a moment, wondering why they had to watch it together. Not that he minded, of course. He was the one that had been covering his television with a bed sheet. Knowing what he did about Alfred now, he imagined that he regarded it the same way since his own encounter with the television.

"Da. That sounds like a good idea. You can sleep on the floor then." Alfred smiled and went back to eating again. Ivan glanced to door as the others started filing in. He wondered which one of them would be on the Midnight Channel tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

Reach Out 8

It was only 9:30 when the knock came at his door. Ivan blinked as he looked up from reading the meeting documents. He hadn't realized that Alfred would want to spend time hanging out before the Midnight Channel came on. Did he want to be friends? He shook his head as he got up, walking over to the door. If the other nations, his sisters aside, talked to him, it was out of fear or a desire to try and keep him sane. They didn't want to be his friend; especially not the United States of America. He answered the door and blinked again.

Alfred was standing at the door in a t-shirt and boxers. He hadn't even bothered to throw on a pair of socks. He had a pillow and blanket shoved under one arm, and an overnight bag on his shoulder.

"Hey! Took you long enough! I brought a movie to kill time." He didn't give Ivan time to reply before he slid past him into the room, dropping his stuff on the floor by Ivan's bed. "Man, that meeting was boring, wasn't it?" Ivan closed the door and walked back to his seat.

"You are here earlier than I expected." He sat down, picking the document he was reading up again. Just as soon as he picked it up, it was snatched out of his hands. He looked up at Alfred, raising a brow.

"That's because I want to hang out! Come on! Take a break from work. Just for a few hours? Here, you get ready for bed, and I'll get the movie set up, okay?" He didn't give room for a reply as he tossed the document aside and went to his bag, digging through it. Ivan sighed and got up, pulling his own nightwear from his suitcase, and went into the bathroom to change. He would never get used to Alfred's impetuous behavior.

It was nearly midnight when the movie ended. It was a decent movie, Ivan supposed. Most people had not seen the horrors that he had encountered in his life, so something such as this 'Saw 8' would be terrifying to them. Speaking of such people, he lifted his blanket, looking down at where Alfred was cowering beside him.

"Why would you choose a movie like this, if you knew you would spend most of it hiding behind me?" Alfred sat up and grinned, and Ivan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Because they're so awesome! How about that part where he just ripped that girl's jaw out? Man, wasn't that so gross?" Ivan sighed, tossing the blanket back over the idiot's head as he got up, pouring himself a shot of vodka as he turned off the television.

"Da, but I still do not see why you had to jump on my bed, clinging to me like a scared little girl. I thought you were a hero?" Alfred pouted as he pulled the blanket off his head, leaving his hair tousled. It was a shame Ivan did not have a camera to keepsake the cute moment. He paused, leaving the vodka to pour all over the table. Did he just think the obnoxious boy sitting on his bed was cute?

"Oh hey! Hey! It's almost midnight! Hurry up, will you?" No. He must have been mistaken. He hurriedly mopped up the spilled vodka and downed his shot, turning to look at Alfred, who had not yet fixed his hair.

"You are quite annoying, da?" He set the shot glass down and walked back over to his bed, sitting down. As he did, the television began to flicker. Alfred leaned over his shoulder, squinting as a fuzzy silhouette appeared on the screen.

"That looks familiar. Where have I seen...oh God. Oh God, no. No!" Ivan blinked as he looked at Alfred, and frowned slightly. He looked as shaken as he had inside the television world.

"What? Do you know who it is?" Alfred swallowed and reached over Ivan, fumbling for his cell phone.

"It's Iggy! I-it...that's Arthur. He's...but Antonio and Lovino were on and they..." Even though Alfred could not finish orating his thoughts, Ivan knew why he was in such a panic. One of Alfred's best friends was going to die, if he had not been killed already. He watched silently as Alfred bungled his way through dialing the number, waiting impatiently for an answer on the other end. Ivan winced as the answer came.

"YOU BLOODY IDIOT! Do you have any idea what time it is? Some of us take the meetings seriously and would like to get some sleep!" Before Alfred could reply, Ivan heard the call disconnect. It seemed to be enough to calm Alfred, though.

"He is fine, da? But he's right. We should go to bed." Alfred nodded, setting his phone back and sliding off the bed to his own makeshift set up on the floor.

"Right. Bed. And he'll be at the meeting tomorrow." Ivan nodded and turned off the light, rolling over to sleep.

He wasn't sure when it happened and wasn't going to ask, but when he woke up in the morning, it was to a faceful of Alfred's hair with his arms trapped in his vice-like grip. He should have known he'd have nightmares.


	9. Chapter 9

Reach Out 9

If anyone was surprised to see Alfred and Ivan arrive at the meeting at the same time, and together, they opted not to say anything about it. This was just fine with Ivan. It had been awkward enough when Alfred woke up and realized he had been practically molesting Ivan in his sleep. They didn't need to try to explain their sudden friendship either. Could they call it that? He wasn't sure yet. He supposed they must be if he hadn't thrown Alfred out of bed upon discovering him there.

As soon as they walked in, Alfred ran over to the table, pulling Arthur out of his seat and into a bear hug.

"You're here! Oh, Iggy! I've never been so happy to see you before!" Ivan chuckled a bit as Arthur sputtered and flailed about before he finally managed to shove Alfred off of him.

"What's gotten into you? Have you gone mad?" Alfred just grinned and ruffled Arthur's hair.

"What? I can't be happy to see you?" Arthur crossed his arms with a raised brow. Ivan found himself once again marveling over the fact he could raise those large things at all.

"Not that happy! Between that call last night and this, you've verified that you've gone mad, git! This is neither the time nor the place for such behavior!" Alfred sighed happily, pulling Arthur into another bear hug.

"Oh, Iggy! Promise me you'll never change!" Arthur's only response was a strangled yell as he once again tried to break away. Ivan sighed and walked over, tapping Alfred's shoulder. To his surprise, along with everyone else's, the younger nation quickly let go of Arthur and turned to look at him, smiling. "Sorry! I was just so relieved to see him!" Ivan rolled his eyes, not deeming Alfred's idiocy worthy of a reply as he went to his seat, sitting down.

A moment later, Alfred was occupying what was usually Yao's seat beside him. He raised a brow as he looked at Alfred, who was still grinning like an idiot. Was he still acting like this because he saved him? No. He hadn't done this yesterday. Perhaps because Ivan had 'protected' him from whatever supernatural beings he conjured up in his mind last night? It was the only plausible explanation.

"Perhaps you should be returning to your seat, da?" Ivan glanced over at Alfred's usual seat beside Arthur to add to the unsubtle hint and blanched. No sooner had Alfred taken Yao's seat than Francis had taken his.

"Ah, Angleterre! You are so grumpy today! How about we go get drinks later? It will be courtesy of moi." Arthur flushed a bit as he crossed his arms, but gave a slight nod all the same.

"It better not be any of that disgusting wine of yours, frog." Francis just chuckled and ruffled Arthur's hair. Ivan sighed in defeat and looked around the table for anywhere else he could direct Alfred to go. Yao had not missed a beat when he walked in, taking the empty seat near Kiku and Roderich to discuss their investigation. No one dared to take either of the seats that would have been Lovino and Antonio's. He thought he saw an empty seat, but a moment later realized that Matthew was there. He sighed again and looked over at Alfred, who pouted slightly.

"What? You don't want to sit with me? I thought we were friends now!" Ivan looked at him for a moment. His bottom lip was jutting out slightly and the light red made the blue of his eyes stand out more. The glare of the lights reflecting off his glasses was somewhat distracting. Ivan recalled that he mentioned they represented one of his states, but he wondered if he really needed them to see. He'd look so- "Hello? Did you hear me? Are we friends or not?" A hand dropped in his face, fingers snapping a few times. Ivan blinked a few times. Had he gotten distracted staring at Alfred again? He glanced around the table to make sure no one else noticed, but they were too busy listening to Arthur, who had the floor again. He nodded quickly.

"Da, we are friends now." He looked down at his notes and quickly busied himself with adding doodles of sunflowers to the corners. Didn't America have a lot of sunflowers? He flipped over his page and started drawing a larger picture idly. By the time he finished, the other nations were starting to leave the room. Alfred nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, meeting's over! Let's go get lunch. There's a restaurant near here that actually serves edible food!" Ivan sighed as he got up, putting his notes away.

"Would that happen to be a McDonald's?" Alfred blinked a few times as he looked at him, then grinned.

"Wow, how did you know? Do you read minds now?" Ivan shook his head. He didn't feel like mentioning how predictable Alfred was, especially since he had been using his free time to learn more about him. On the other side of the room, Arthur and Francis grabbed their attention when they started arguing.

"But that pub serves the worst food! There's a lovely restaurant just down the street from it that serves better food and better drinks, non?" Arthur scowled as he stalked out of the room.

"I'm not going to a French restaurant for drinks! It's the pub or nothing!" Francis sighed as he followed him out. Ivan frowned slightly as he recalled the image on the Midnight Channel the night before. Alfred must have been thinking the same thing.

"He'll be fine. I mean, he's going out with Francis, right?" Ivan nodded a bit, and the two finally left the room. "Oh, I have your glasses to give back to you. Tony made a cloned pair for me. Oh! And he modified them a bit by adding this nifty scanner. We used my persona as a test subject, and it's really cool!" Ivan raised a brow as he followed him. He didn't actually want to go back to that strange world, did he?


	10. Chapter 10

Reach Out 10

He should have expected it, really. After all, Alfred had shown up the night before to watch the Midnight Channel, and it was raining again. So when he opened the door to find Alfred standing there just as he had been the night before, he just let him in.

"Perhaps you should wear more clothes when you come calling. People may start getting ideas otherwise." He sighed as Alfred gave him a confused look, and turned to gather the blankets to make a bed on the floor. Better to get it out of the way now.

"What's wrong with this? I have clothes on. I have my own pillow. It's just a sleepover." Alfred set his stuff on the chair, digging through his bag. "I hope you're not doing work again, I brought another movie! It's the next in the series. Can you believe they made 9 of these Saw movies?" Ivan glanced over at him then threw the blankets back on the bed. He would spare them both the trouble and the unpleasant surprises in the morning. He moved onto the bed, preparing for another version of the ridiculous movie he was subjected to yesterday. Alfred moved to the bed and perched himself in front of Ivan.

Two and half gory hours later, he had perched himself _on_ Ivan. Ivan sighed as he tried to pry Alfred's arms of his head. They were cutting off blood flow, and his legs around his neck weren't helping. The whole thing was so wrong, and Ivan was thankful Alfred had hopped on his back rather than his chest - if the bump pressing against his neck was any indication.

"Would you please get off of me, Alfred?" He glanced up to meet an embarrassed grin.

"Oh! Right! Yeah, sure thing, big guy. I wasn't scared or anything, you know. I just like climbing sometimes, and you're pretty big. I was, like, oh hey, it'd be like climbing a building, like that guy did when he was trying to escape the killer. Who knew that a cleaver could cut through a drain pipe like that?"

Ivan sighed. "Just get off." He waited as Alfred extracted his limbs, not sparing a glance as he did so in a way that sent him rolling backwards off the other side of the bed. What an idiot. He grabbed the remote, turning off the television. He looked at the clock. There was still some time until midnight. Alfred pulled himself up from the floor, and Ivan looked over when he felt weight on the other end of the bed.

"So, I've been wondering. I know you said we're friends now, but I feel like I'm the only one concerned with holding this friendship together." Ivan stared blankly at him. He went to McDonald's and ate the garbage Alfred called food. He allowed him to come spend another night in his room. He had just spent the past two and a half hours serving as Alfred's personal body pillow.

"Oh? And what has called you to reach this conclusion?"

Alfred hoisted himself up onto the bed, settling next to Ivan. "I make all the plans! 'Hey Ivan, let's get lunch.' 'Hey Ivan, let's watch the Midnight Channel.' I just feel like you're not putting any effort into being friends. Are you sure we are? You're not just saying that to shut me up, are you? People do that sometimes." Ivan blinked a few times. He was aware that it had only been one day, right?

"Do you want to get dinner after the meeting tomorrow? And we can go see a movie." That was what friends did when they spent time together, right?

Alfred stared at him for a moment, a rosy blush spreading across his cheeks. "Y-you want to do that? Really? Er-Oh, hey look! It's coming on!"

Ivan turned to look at the TV as it flickered back to life on its own. There was something different about it this time, though. Where previously shadowed figures had been on a static-filled screen, now there was a full view of scenery. It appeared to be some kind of old wooden ship. A figure walked out on screen, throwing his arms open with a flourish. It was Arthur, wearing an outdated article of gentry, and far too much jewelry. He bowed, taking off a feathered three corner hat as he did. When he looked at the camera again, it was with a toothy grin that Ivan couldn't recall seeing on the man for centuries. There was something sinister about Arthur though. Ivan couldn't quite put his finger on it. He glanced at Alfred beside him, who was gawking at the screen with something akin to amusement tinged with disbelief.

"Listen up, ya floundering lice-infested dandies! Tonight, Captain Arthur is on another death-defying adventure that ain't for the chicken-hearted scallywags. I've conquered the seven seas and am looking for a real challenge! I'm calling on all the treacherous, blood thirsty sons of sea witches to come try their hand at defeating me, if you dare, on Captain Arthur's Pillage, Plunder and Privateer Adventure Hour! I'll be waiting for ya, ya yellow-bellied green gills!" He turned, heading onto the ship, and the screen cut out.

Ivan blinked, staring at the television. Then he blinked, and stared again. Did he really just watch that? He turned to look at Alfred, who had a confused look on his face himself. Ivan wanted to ask if Alfred thought that perhaps the Arthur they saw on the television was related to the shadow version of Alfred they had seen. Before he could, however, Alfred turned to him.

"Iggy never mentioned having a television show! That is so cool!"

Ivan groaned and flicked the light off, pulling the blankets over his head. He let out a breath of relief as Alfred seemed to catch the hint, moving to lay down himself. He'd have to remember to ask Arthur about the show in the morning.


	11. Chapter 11

Reach Out 11

The next morning started much the way the previous morning had. Ivan woke up to a faceful of Alfred, pried his way out of his grasp, and got ready for that morning's meeting. Apparently part of the morning ritual included coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, now that he had Alfred dragging him around. Why did he keep letting him in his room again?

"So then I was like, 'Well I don't know why you always blame me for everything. I wasn't even iinvolved/i in that, Iggy.' It's like everyone just pushes all the world's problems on me. I know I'm the hero and all, but it's kind of annoying when no one wants to do anything for themselves, just so they can blame me later if it doesn't go the way they want." Ivan nodded as he listened to the rant, sipping his coffee while Alfred stopped talking for a second to eat one of his doughnuts.

"Perhaps you should just say no when they ask for help then."

Alfred chuckled a bit and sipped his coffee. "I wish I could, but now I have this reputation to live up to, you know?" He set the coffee on the table, staring blankly at the black liquid swaying in the cup. "It's not a big deal anyway. Forget I said anything. I'm surprised I even said this much already."

Ivan couldn't help the slight smile that pulled at the corners of his lips. "Perhaps it's because we are friends now, da?"

Alfred looked up and smiled. "Yeah. We are, aren't we?" Something stirred inside him as Ivan watched Alfred across from him. Before he could say anything else, Roderich walked up to the table. He looked up at him.

"Roderich. Is there something we can do for you?" Roderich set his hands on the table, looking at the two of them, though for what Ivan couldn't say.

"Have either of you seen Arthur this morning?" Ivan shook his head.

Alfred frowned. "No, why? Did something happen?" Ivan knew what he was thinking. There was obviously a connection between the Midnight Channel and the nations that were dying. He just wasn't able to figure out what that connection was. As it was, the other two that had been on the television turned up dead. He didn't want to draw any kind of attention from Roderich, but he wanted to comfort Alfred. Ivan rubbed the side of his foot lightly against Alfred's ankle underneath the table in what he hoped would be a reassuring action. Across from him, Alfred flushed and quickly took a sip of his coffee.

Roderich raised a brow, crossing his arms as he spoke to them. "It appears that Arthur is missing. Several nations have tried reaching him for pre-meeting concerns, but none have been able to reach him. We went to his home, but no one was there." Alfred opened his mouth but Roderich cut him off. "He wasn't with Francis this morning, either."

Ivan frowned as he listened. He glanced out the window where the rain continued to fall; nothing new there. Arthur assured them that the sun shone quite frequently in London, but he'd yet to attend a meeting where it wasn't raining in the country. The musings did little to take his mind off the nagging tug at the back of it. Alfred was going to insist they looked for his friend. Ivan hadn't even wanted to go after Alfred into the television, and now he was stuck with the other on a regular basis. It was like feeding a cat.

What if they went into the television and Arthur was there? Would there be another one of those alter selves? Alfred would want to save him. But what if he wasn't there? Perhaps Arthur was already dead somewhere, just waiting to be found. As Alfred's friend, would he have to spend more time trying to console him? He wasn't quite the best person for this sort of thing.

"We haven't seen him, but we'll definitely help you look!" Alfred broke Ivan from his thoughts. Of course they were going to look. He had a feeling he knew where they'd be looking, too.

Roderich nodded, somewhat distractedly before crossing his arms. "Has he said anything strange to you lately? Anything about being annoyed with anyone? Has he seemed distracted to you at all?" Ivan raised a brow. Why was he asking questions like that about a missing person?

"You don't think he ran away, do you? Why would he do something like that?" Alfred looked at Roderich as he took a bite of his last doughnut, talking around it. "Dah dunt may shens."

Ivan grimaced at Alfred's embarrassing lack of manners, as Roderich shook his head. "We just think there's a possibility that he may be laying low. As you know, the Gibraltar issue has come up again and tensions were running a little high between Arthur and Antonio..."

Alfred slammed his hands on the table as he stood and Ivan sighed as it broke, dumping their coffee to the table with it and drawing the attention of everyone in the establishment. "You're accusing him of being the killer?"

Roderich blinked and flushed a bit, obviously embarrassed to be associated with them at the moment. "Would you calm down? I didn't say we were accusing him. We were just considering the possibility that perhaps an argument between the two went too far. It would make sense. We're already assuming whoever it was decided that Romano must have known too much and went after him as well." He shook his head and turned to leave as the manager approached. "Forget I mentioned it. After all, there's no evidence to suggest it. It was just a thought."

Ivan turned to look at the manager, narrowing his eyes. He had no intention of dealing with people at the moment. He took Alfred's arm and started pulling him out. "We should start looking, da? Then they can stop making their false accusations."

Alfred struggled briefly against being pulled before he stopped moving altogether, pulling Ivan back towards him. Ivan stumbled, turning and grabbing Alfred's other arm to keep from falling backwards onto him. "You're going to help me look?" His smile was almost shy in appearance. "Really?"

Ivan nodded. "I will. That is what friends do, da? We will find him, and then go have dinner and see whatever ridiculous movie you want, as I promised we would. So, don't start your ridiculous flailing and exclamations." He blinked as Alfred suddenly seemed to become embarrassed and quieted. He let go of Alfred's arm and left the building, walking out onto the street. He started moving back toward the hotel. He heard Alfred's footsteps behind him as he caught up, but stopped when Alfred's arm wrapped itself in his. He looked at Alfred, who was looking anywhere but at him.

Thankfully, the awkwardness of the moment was broken when Francis waved as he ran toward them.

"Alfred! I have been looking everywhere for you. It's terrible! Arthur is missing!" Ivan felt a wave of dread rush through his body. Alfred let go, hurrying over to Francis.

"I heard! Me and Ivan are going to look for him. You should come with us!" Ivan groaned. He knew it.

The status of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in relations between the two nations, dating back to the conflicts in the early 18th century. The official status of Gibraltar is that of a British overseas territory. Captured by Dutch and English troops in 1704, the Spanish king transferred the territory to Great Britain in 1713 under the terms of Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht.

Today there is a long-standing disagreement of sovereignty of the region, with the case being submitted to the European Court of Justice.


	12. Chapter 12

Reach Out 12

There were times when even Ivan didn't like to be right. This was one of them. He sighed as they stood in front of the television in his hotel room. Alfred had just finished his energetic explanation of the world inside of it, the Midnight Channel, his shadow, and Arthur's show the night before. In all honesty, he couldn't blame Francis for the skepticism that graced his features.

"So, you can go through the television?" Alfred nodded.

"Right! And I've got this theory that I've been thinking about all morning. So, the image on the TV was blurry until last night, but it still looked like Iggy. Now, it _is_ Iggy on the TV, and he's missing. What if there's a connection there? Like, the TV _knows_ who is going to die next?"

Francis paled. "Die? What are you talking about?"

Ivan frowned as he listened. Pieces were slowly starting to come together, and he could see what Alfred was trying to get at. He had seen Antonio and Romano on the Midnight Channel, and they had turned up dead. Arthur was on the Midnight Channel and now he was missing.

"And because Arthur is in the television, the image is clearer, da?"

Alfred nodded. "Exactly! So what if it means that Iggy is in there now, getting attacked by those shadow things like I was? We can't just stand here. We have to go save him!" Ivan nodded his agreement and turned to the television. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and looked to see Francis standing with a resolute expression on his face.

"I am going with you. It is my fault for leaving Arthur to go back to his room on his own last night that he was able to be thrown in this television or whatever…If, of course, it happened as you say it has." Ivan frowned. Francis had no way to fight, and the fog would make him ill. They didn't have time to babysit anyone else.

"Oh, hey." Alfred started digging in the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out another clone of the glasses. "You'll need my spare pair then!" Ivan was pretty sure nothing would ever happen the rational, well thought out way with Alfred along with him on these excursions. He didn't mind as much as he probably should have though.

Francis raised a brow as he took them. "My vision is perfect, actually. I don't need these."

Ivan sighed. "It's for the fog. If you are coming, then come along. I'd rather not waste time." Why was he the one who had to save everyone? He blamed Alfred and his hero complex for this. With that in mind, he stepped into the television, missing Francis' shock and awe before Alfred shoved him in as well.

When they landed, Ivan picked himself up and looked around. It was a different area than they had arrived in last month. It was a shame. He would have liked to see if there was any way to find the area where Antonio and Romano must have fallen. Perhaps there could be a clue to how they'd gotten there, or how they had died.

What he did notice, was that without the fog obscuring it, there was a lot of television equipment. That must have been how the Midnight Channel was broadcast. But who was operating the equipment? There was no one around but the shadows in this world. He turned to Francis, who was looking around in awe. That was to be expected.

"This isn't where we were last time. Do you think it's because we're in a different country? Maybe it all depends on the TV or something?" Ivan looked to the direction Alfred's voice came from. He was inspecting some of the equipment. "Hey, Ivan." He looked up at him. "How do you suppose we find our way around? I mean, there's nothing to mark the path we're taking. We could get lost here." No kidding.

Ivan sighed. "I do not know, Alfred. You just ran off last time and I followed you. It's not like there is anything we can use as a tracking device." He turned back to Francis to make sure he didn't run off as Alfred had.

"That's a great idea, Ivan! I bet I could use some parts from the equipment here to do it. Do you mind waiting like, an hour or two?"

"But Alfred, what if an hour is too long? Arthur will be killed and it will be my fault!"

Ivan turned back to Francis and sighed. "Do not worry, we will find him. Alfred, as much as I hate to say it, is right. We can't get lost here. We should at least let him _try _to come up with something. He managed to clone the glasses."

"And added a scanner! Don't worry! Tony taught me all kinds of alien technology stuff." Ivan sighed and nodded. After all, if the alien was a figment of Alfred's imagination and he believed that it helped him make things, the better off they would be.

Sure enough, an hour of uncomfortable small talk later, Alfred emerged from the pile of equipment he had scrapped, holding a small device in his hands. "I think this will be okay. It won't tell us where we're going or anything, but it will tell us where we've walked. Then we can get back here later!" Ivan nodded. It was better than nothing.

"That will be fine. Let's go then."

Francis nodded and got up, looking around. "Which way to do we go though?" Ivan sighed. That was a good question. It wasn't like last time, where there were all kinds of hints to guide him along.

"It looked like Iggy was getting on a ship, right? Maybe we should look for water or something." Ivan sighed and looked at Alfred, who was still tinkering with his creation as he spoke. "I mean, not that it would do much if there's none visible in either direction of us. I'd say maybe there'd be seagulls or something that could lead us there, but there's nothing around here."

Ivan nodded; it would be ridiculous to expect that there would be anything like that here. There was a screeching above them and they all looked up to see a monstrous looking bird carrying a lantern flying over head.

"Oh look! I bet there's water that way!" Alfred grabbed Ivan's arm and started pulling him after the bird. The device in his hand made a steady stream of low beeps as it etched out the path they were taking. It was primitive, at best, but it was more than anyone else could come up with here. More importantly, there was a bird. A strange shadow bird, he was sure. But a bird, nonetheless. Talk about convenience.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before a large ship came into view, with a plank leading to a strange entrance. Who would enter a ship in the lower decks? It was similar, though, to where Ivan had found Alfred. Francis walked up behind him, staring at the ship.

"You think that Arthur's in here?" Ivan nodded. It matched the scenery in the background of that show they had watched. "Then, I'm going in!" Before either Ivan or Alfred could react, Francis ran ahead of them into the ship. Ivan groaned as Alfred swore loudly behind him.

"Damn it! He doesn't have a weapon! We have to catch up to him!" Ivan fixed a blank stare on Alfred.

"Perhaps if you had thought about that sooner, we wouldn't be having this problem. Whose brilliant idea was it to bring Francis along with us?" Alfred huffed, not answering as he ran in after Francis. Ivan sighed and followed. He really hated doing this.

It took Alfred and him some time to make their way through the ship, finally getting up to the main deck, where Francis stood, looking around.

_He said that it was the best look for me._

Ivan blinked, looking around as he heard Arthur's voice. This was new.

"Iggy?" Alfred looked around as well, but neither of them spotted the source of the voice.

_I hated the way I looked. I was a complete and total mess. But that was perfect for me; unsophisticated. But Francis…he said that was what looked best on me. He said that was a look that was cool._

"Hey Ivan..." Alfred rubbed his nose as he listened. "If this whole world is a reflection of the hidden away Iggy…do you think these are his inner thoughts?" Ivan nodded slowly. It would make sense. It certainly wasn't something they'd ever hear Arthur saying in person. Francis frowned as he listened.

_Francis was the only one I can stand being around. He's always been smart, trendy, and popular, and he could do anything. That's why I had to be his rival. He was everything I wasn't, but strived to be. Compared to Francis…I'm…_

Ivan blinked as he listened. He'd always known that Arthur and Francis had a strange relationship. It wasn't quite hate, but it didn't appear to be friendship either.

_Francis understands me in a way no one else has ever tried to, and I don't deserve it. Francis is so much better than me…_

Francis' hands were clenched in fists at his side. Ivan frowned as he started laughing. Why would he laugh at something like that? There was a dark edge to laugh, and Ivan scowled as he realized Francis wasn't laughing at all. A dark mass of shadows amassed in front of them, and another Francis walked out of it. It was the same as it had been with Alfred. Another shadow?

"Francis is so much better, huh? What a joke. Are we really talking about Arthur? He says that I'm the popular one? Who is he kidding?"

Francis' jaw dropped and he took a few steps back. Ivan imagined it must be jarring to be faced with a mirror image of yourself, saying things you never wanted to admit you felt. Francis shook his head as he listened. "Non…What…why are you saying that?" Ivan listened as the shadow smirked.

"Arthur is such a gentleman. So mature. Everyone talks to Arthur; wants to spend time with him. When he ignores them to argue with me? _Je l'adore_. They all ignore me, so why should they get his attention? He knows I'm better than him. I deserve that attention. Not him!"

Francis shook his head again. "No! I don't think that!"

Ivan's grip on his pipe tightened as he debated their options. iWas/i there anything they could do right now? Even if they defeated the shadow now, would it do anything? If those are repressed feelings, they will still be repressed. They had to convince Francis to accept that as part of him before it was too late. Alfred took a step towards Francis, who shirked away from him.

"Non! Don't come near me!"

Alfred grabbed his shoulders. "Francis! Calm down!"

Francis shook his head again. "No, this isn't me! Alfred, this isn't-"

Alfred scowled. "Stop saying things like that! You don't understand what will happen!"

The shadow laughed again. "That's right. I don't understand anything. I do everything to please everyone; to get _any_ attention. But everyone ignores me. I don't understand it! Why do I have to be alone all the time? But it's okay. I have Arthur, and I'll always get in the way of anyone who tries to change that."

Francis shook his head. "No! I don't do that!"

The shadow moved closer to Francis, who took another step back. "Don't try to deny me. I'm you. The real you."

"No!" Francis shook his head again. "You're not!"

Alfred grabbed for Francis' shoulders again. "Don't say it!"

"You're not me!"

Ivan sighed, taking a defensive stance as the shadow drew in the other shadows in the area, transforming. He had a feeling this would happen a lot.


	13. Chapter 13

Reach Out 13

The shadows cleared away like a burst of energy, revealing a large, faceless figure bent over itself. On its back, there was a large heap of items that seemed to be weighing it down. Amongst them, Ivan was able to distinguish a dresser, with lace adorned sleeves hanging out of its drawers, large ornate vases filled with roses, and what appeared to be large scale replicas of pencils. Ivan took a defensive step back, raising his pipe in front of him. Was that a sewing machine he saw? Just what kind of shadow was this?

"I have given the world so much, and for what?" He frowned as he listened to the shadow, reminding himself that this wasn't Francis. A barrage of pencils came flying towards them and he dodged out of the way. He looked to his side and saw Alfred pulling the unconscious Francis out of harm's way. That was good, at least. He turned back to the shadow, just in time to dodge a barrage of scuba diving gear. He looked at the pipe in his hand. He'd never get close enough to use it.

"Odoodem!" Ivan turned to look over at Alfred, who threw out his persona's card, shooting it, causing the strange totem pole to appear. While it was an impressive shot, Ivan's first thought was that it was a waste of bullets. He watched as the heads on pole turned until the eagle at the top was facing the shadow. Its eyes lit up and the air around the shadow began to swirl, throwing its own debris at it violently. Interesting.

He pulled out his own card, crushing it in his hand. Heeding his call, Rasputin came forth from the depths of his mind in a rush of energy. Now that he was expecting it, it was somewhat thrilling, the way it just ripped from him. His persona was the marionette and he pulled the strings. Rasputin raised its sword, plunging it into the floorboards. The blade burst up from underneath the shadow, causing it to stumble back. More objects fell from its shoulders.

"The world would be nowhere without me!" Perhaps it blended in with the rest of the falling debris, but it wasn't until it was about to hit him that Ivan noticed the vase flying through the air towards him.

"No!" He blinked as he was shoved to the side by Alfred, wincing as he heard it shatter on impact. He looked over at where Alfred stood, holding his head. Water was dripping from strands of hair and off his nose as it seeped in his clothes. The roses were scattered around him, except for one that lingered stubbornly on his shoulder. Ivan figured that a thorn was stuck in the material of his shirt. He picked himself up, turning to attack the shadow again. It was watching Alfred, which meant the perfect opportunity to destroy it. He raised his hand, and Rasputin mimicked the action, sword raised for a finishing blow.

A bullet flew by his ear and Ivan ducked, bringing his hand to cover where it had grazed as he looked over at Alfred.

"What are you doing?" Ivan frowned as he took at good look at Alfred. His eyes were glazed over, and he held the rose tightly in his other hand as he stepped closer with a crazed grin.

"I won't let you hurt my love, Ivan. He chose me to be his hero." What was he talking about? Ivan frowned as he looked at the shadow and then to Alfred again. He couldn't fight them both at once and he didn't want to hurt Alfred. He had to get him to snap out of whatever daze he was in. In the corner of his eye, he watched a few of the petals fall from the flower. Alfred shook his head a bit before he raised his gun again, grinning. "I'll defeat you and save him."

"Alfred, you must snap out of it. We have to save Francis if we are going to save Arthur, da?" Ivan swung his pipe, knocking the gun from Alfred's hand. The shadow threw a dresser of clothes at him. The drawers fell out as it sailed overhead, the clothes dumping on top of Ivan. He flailed, temporarily blinded as he pulled off the clothes. He felt the wind pick up around him, blowing him into the wall on the other side of the room. He looked at Alfred, who was standing over him, his persona standing imposingly beside him. A few more petals fell from the rose, but Ivan paid them no mind. Enough was enough.

"Rasputin!" The persona's fingers danced, moving the figure on the marionette in a strange dance as the temperature in the room dropped. Ice started to form at Alfred's feet and the shadow's. He didn't want to have to do this to Alfred, but he couldn't afford any more distractions. The ice encased them both before shattering. The rose wilted in Alfred's hands as he collapsed to his hands and knees, panting and shivering. The shadow tumbled, dropping the rest of the debris. The shadows that had been pulled to it melted away until only the pseudo Francis remained.

"What the hell, man? What did you do that for? I thought we were allies? Friends?" Alfred started to say something else, but hesitated, shaking his head as he pushed himself up. Ivan frowned. Did he not remember what he had just done?

"You attacked me. It had you under a spell. It was the only way." Alfred narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion, but turned to Francis quickly as the other slowly picked himself up.

"What…?" Ivan turned to watch as Francis stared blankly at his shadow. "…Is this really me?" He sighed, shaking his head. "Yes, I suppose it is." He turned to look at them, his smile weighed down with exhaustion. "I never wanted to admit it to myself, but I do try so hard to get everyone's attention. I'm," he paused, eyes searching for something Ivan couldn't see, "jealous of how easily you both get noticed, but the only one who ever pays me any mind is Arthur."

Ivan nodded a bit. "Everyone has something about themselves they aren't proud of, da?" He smiled, and he hoped it was more assuring than the terrifying it had a tendency to be. "There's nothing wrong with it."

Alfred huffed a bit as he crossed his arms. "At least you only have one."

Francis raised a brow, then turned to face the shadow. "You're right. You're me, and I'm you."

Ivan watched as the shadow nodded and faded. In its place stood a white, faceless figure, with long, billowing hair and a flowing white gown. It was almost ghostlike in appearance, but something about it drew Ivan to stare.

Francis smiled as the card fell in his hand. "Dame Blanche."

Alfred walked over, clapping Francis' shoulder. "Welcome to the team. Now, let's go find Iggy."

Ivan sighed. At least he was dropping the ice thing.


End file.
